2009 Cincuenta Ugarte Rioja, Spain

I’ve been wondering for quite some time what has been happening to my Total Wine & More mailers. I hadn’t received one since the first of the year and wondered what good deals they were offering. I figured my daughter was probably hiding them from me or they had ended up on the bottom of a stack of junk mail. So it was with great surprise that I found the latest mailer when I was cleaning off my kitchen table of a few days worth of mail. Low and behold, such deals on some great wines. 2009 Bordeauxs under 15 dollars, 92 point Rhone blends for 12 and 90 point rated gem for less than 10 dollars. I have grown to love Tempranillo when it’s done right and that means from Spain, usually from Rioja. This wine fits that bill perfectly. It pours dark into the glass with swirling rubies, garnets and purples that at times edge into midnight black making for a mesmerizing glass to look at. The nose wafts strongly of sugared black plums, blackberry jam, vanilla and licorice with subtler elements of dust and charcoal. The palate itself is elegant and layered; stacking dark fruits (blackberry, currant and cherry) on top of caramel and cocoa in the attack. The mid-palate is wonderfully focused; featuring perfect tannins, crisp acidity in all the right places and beautiful astringency that pull the caramel and cocoa flavors through into the finish. And what a wonderful finish it is; long and luxurious where the fruits mix and mingle with sugars and savory flavors. Chocolate covered cherry and caramel tinged plums, with sweetened coffee and vanilla laced milk leave my tongue feeling as if I’ve gone on a pleasure cruise through a box of designer candies. Underneath these flavors are more pungent tastes of cedar and smoke with hints of ash and dirt, but they all build a wonderful flavor profile that is extremely gratifying. This finishes strong and though it feels heavy it is in fact a medium bodied wine that pairs well with just about any grilled meat, some spicy barbecue, sausages and especially hamburgers.

Overall this wine was phenomenal. I was amazed at the flavor and texture that it produced and just how complex this bottle really was. It paired so well I went through the bottle in three consecutive nights and came back on the fourth night disappointed I hadn’t saved a little for a few slices of pizza. At 10 dollars this is an amazing QPR. Sure it got 90 points from The Wine Advocate, but this one was a surprise to me. I frequently sample 90+ point wines (those that ring up at the register under 25 dollars and there are quite a few); this bottle is right at the top of the list of those wines. Complex, daring, with a depth that is hard to find; it is a truly wonderful wine that will slake your thirst and have you coming back for more. Highly recommended and if you find it purchase more than one because you are either going to want to add it to your cellar or you are going to want to sip it for several weeks!

2008 Bridgman Cabernet Sauvignon, Washington

Honored hues…Black core fading to dark ruby red and finally a violet tinted rim

Fragrance of familiarity...Black plum, brown sugar, leather

Smooth swallows…I grabbed this from Total Wine’s Featured Cabernet Sauvignon section. I’ve slowly made my way through the sub-20 dollar bottle that they place in this section, but I hadn’t sampled this particular wine yet. As soon as I got it home I poured myself a glass and slowly sipped. First impression: this is a very balanced wine both in flavor and texture. The attack is quite smooth with equal parts sugary fruit (blackberry and black plum) and strong herbaceous flavors (grass, leather and straw). The mid-palate holds firm tannins, evenhanded alcohol heat and tingle and perfect astringency. The finish is long and the least balanced part of this wine as the flavors, fruity and savory, fight for prominence. Neither actually win out, though the fruit comes on first with more plum added to currant and black cherry. The savory flavors hit with cut grass, tobacco, sage and dirt. This is a medium bodied wine that sometimes feels like a full bodied red wine; but in reality it doesn’t have the weight to drive it all the way into full bodied territory. The aftertaste is somewhat oaky but also has hints of plum and bitter fruit skins.

Overall, this is not what I’d expected from a Washington State Cabernet Sauvignon. It has more in common with a well balanced Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit here isn’t as forward, and the lack of spice box flavors left my palate longing for a different wine. What this wine does offer is a nice, smooth Cabernet Sauvignon with a fair price point. This particular bottle only merits a fair QPR even though it’s very balanced, it’s priced about a dollar or two above what I’d really want to pay for this wine. It does much better when paired with grilled red meat, even hamburgers; so if you do pick up this bottle make sure to pair it accordingly.

Precept Wines

2009 Domaine Du Riaz Cote-De-Brouilly, France

Color – Very dark purple

Nose – Strawberry, blueberry, flowers, leaves, bubblegum?

Taste – Again I’ve come back to sample another Beaujolais Cru, this one a Cote de Brouilly that sells for 15 dollars at Total Wine. I didn’t rely on the advice of a member of their staff but read through their offerings and randomly chose this wine. All of Total Wine’s Beaujolais Cru’s are between 13 and 20 dollars, and of those most are rated 90 points by one of the “Wine Journals”. This particular wine is rated 90 or 91 from one such magazine. First off the wine is definitely good. It has wonderful depth of flavor from the beginnings of the first sip. I can taste strawberry, grass, dirt, lavender, dandelion, sage and salt. These flavors simply edge into a mid-palate of perfect alcohol tingle mixed with some sour berry flavors and intense astringency. The finish is medium-to-long and made up mainly of leftover sour berries, salt, floral undertones, and of all things grape. I hesitate to call this wine complex, the flavors are diverse, but the wine itself doesn’t feel complex. It is medium bodied and the aftertaste is pleasantly cherry and grape-ish. But the wine seems a little watery, without any real weight. The astringency is just a little over the top, though the alcohol and sour berries are perfect. I began this wine liking it, but by the end of the bottle this particular bottle of Gamay grapes had soured on me.

Overall, this is an OK QPR, certainly a good wine for the price. Are there better examples of this wine? You bet, and quite a few are much cheaper. I’d take a bottle of Georges Du Beouf Beaujolais-Villages or Morgon Flower Label over this wine and both of those are cheaper. This wine has too much going on and not enough connecting all the dots. The flavors taste great and are the only saving grace for this wine, but it’s not enough for me to buy it again. I’d say pass on this one.